saved

Editorial – The Hundred and Forty Four-Thousand

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For those of you who are mathematicians, 144 is a Fibonacci number. It is both a round number and a square number. But the reason that students of prophecy are fascinated with this number is because God says that in the last generation He is going to seal 144,000 people from His true church (Israel), and this will happen before the final destructive judgments come upon this world (Revelation 7:1–4).

These people are described as virgins (Revelation 14:4), for they have not drunk the wine of the fornication of Babylon (Revelation 14:8; 17:2; 18:3).

Inspired writings describe them as being very small in number compared with the multitudes on the earth in the last days. One hundred and forty-four thousand is indeed a small number compared with today’s population of over seven billion, including many millions of Adventists. That figures out to a ratio of approximately one in 50,000 people. Actually, that is a very high number of faithful people when you consider that the ratio was far less at other periods of time. Before the flood when the population was most probably over one billion, only eight people were found to be loyal and ready to enter the ark—Noah and his family. Out of the 300,000 children of Israel who journeyed through the wilderness, only two were found. The experiences recorded in Matthew 24 and I Corinthians 10 are examples of the last days.

In addition to the 144,000, there will also be an innumerable multitude saved (Revelation 7:9), many of them martyrs and the myriads who have died in Christ, but the 144,000 is a select group from the final generation who will receive special honors in the kingdom of God. (See Revelation 14:1.)

Specific character traits have been developed in the last days in all of those comprising the 144,000: (1) purity, (2) truthfulness, (3) faultlessness or blamelessness or, in other words, perfection of character. (See Revelation 14:1–5.) Referring to this group, Ellen White wrote, “Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.” Early Writings, 71.

“If we would have the image and superscription of God upon us, we must separate ourselves from all iniquity. We must forsake every evil way, and then we must trust our cases in the hands of Christ. While we are working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, God will work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.” The Review and Herald, March 19, 1889.

And finally an exhortation: “Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.” The Review and Herald, March 9, 1905.

Heaven

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I want to share with you about heaven. I think it is so wonderful that we are preparing for that place, and we are all doing it together.

I am a lover of poetry and I like to use quite a lot of it:

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and e’er we start our day

Let us thank Him for the order of the day

Which helps us walk throughout the day the narrow way.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and as we read and study and sing

We ask the Master for the very tool that will shape our lives to please the King.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School, let each countenance beam with joy

As we see with Him the mighty dual over evil in each adult, girl and boy.

The Master’s here at Sabbath School and with love, let each one do our part

To invite the Master into Sabbath School and into every life and heart.

There are many puzzling experiences we go through in this life not knowing which way to turn. But we are so thankful that God has promised to lead and guide us each day with the help of the holy angels and the Holy Spirit.

I am sure there are many who have the same kind of longing that I have, a longing to see Jesus return. We are almost home, but before we get there we have a work to do. We are told, “All heaven was represented to me [Ellen White] as beholding and watching upon the Sabbath those who acknowledge the claims of the fourth commandment and are observing the Sabbath. Angels were marking their interest in, and high regard for, this divine institution. Those who sanctified the Lord God in their hearts by a strictly devotional frame of mind, and who sought to improve the sacred hours in keeping the Sabbath to the best of their ability, and to honor God by calling the Sabbath a delight—these [souls] the angels were specially blessing with light and health, and special strength was given them.” Counsels for the Church, 271.

The Lord has given us the Sabbath as a blessing to help us on our way to heaven. I know that you all realize that sometimes the road is a little harder than that which we had planned, but remember, we are almost home.

“We are homeward bound. He who loved us so much as to die for us hath builded for us a city. The New Jerusalem is our place of rest. There will be no sadness in the city of God. No wail of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections, will evermore be heard. Soon the garments of heaviness will be changed for the wedding garment. Soon we shall witness the coronation of our King. Those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer’s glory in the kingdom of God.

“It will not be long till we shall see Him in Whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness. … Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed.” Maranatha, 352.

I am looking forward to that day with excitement. From day to day I think of the love of God and His promises and I think there is nothing in this world worth losing heaven for—no, not one thing. The following is something about the joy of heaven:

Knowest thou the joy of a handclasp of the return of a long, lost friend,

Then you begin to know the joy of eternity, the joy that will never end.

Knowest thou the joy of a mother as she clasps her firstborn babe,

Then you begin to know the joy of heaven, the joy that will never fade.

Knowest thou the joy of the birds, the bride and groom as together they start on their journey to trod,

Then you begin to know the joy, the wonderful joy that is found in the love of God.

The joy of this earth is small and short compared to the joy of our Father’s love,

As a drop in the Ocean is the joy on earth compared to the joy we will have up above.

I contemplate that joy and think of it a lot. I often look up at the clouds and think of that little cloud that starts out the size of a man’s fist. And as it gets bigger and closer, we will recognize it as the realization of all our hopes. It is the Second Coming and we will finally see Jesus and hear Him say, “Awake, awake” and the graves all over the world will open up and the dead in Christ shall rise. Oh how wonderful. This is more than any of us dare miss. It is more than anybody who has had the opportunity to know truth dare think of letting it slip by.

If we are to be saints in heaven we must first be saints on earth. “Those who in heaven join with the angelic choir in their anthem of praise must learn on earth the song of heaven, the keynote of which is thanksgiving.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 244.

Thankfulness must be learned and practiced. We need to learn to praise the Lord with our very breath and life, because as we learn these things on earth, we are preparing for eternity. As we come closer and closer to the end of time, the conflict between good and evil will become more severe. And though we often think of the outside conflict that will come, the real conflict occurs throughout day-to-day life. It is with those little annoyances, when you can’t get the screw to turn and you need more patience, when you have an appointment and you have to be there at a certain time and somebody knocks on the door and they talk and you can’t get away, or when you are ready to go some place and the phone rings and somebody needs help. It is at those times when we guard our patience and our thoughts and our words that we are being prepared for eternity.

All of the problems of this earth must be laid aside and then readily accept the providence of God and realize that He is leading us on the way. “The conflict in which you have to take an active part is found in your everyday life. Will you not in times of trial lay your desires by the side of the written word, and in earnest prayer seek Jesus for counsel? Many declare that it is certainly no harm to go to a concert and neglect the prayer-meeting, or absent themselves from meetings where God’s servants are to declare a message from heaven. It is safe for you to be just where Christ has said He would be.

“Those who appreciate the words of Christ will not turn aside from the prayer meeting, or from the meeting where the Lord’s messenger has been sent to tell them concerning things of eternal interest.” Messages to Young People, 140, 141.

Man was made a social creature and we need the association of one another. We need to be together and to attend our prayer meetings and other sacred meetings to receive the needed encouragement in order to do all the things necessary to shape up our lives for eternity, for we are on the road to heaven. “Those who enter heaven must learn on earth the song of heaven, the key-note of which is praise and thanksgiving. Only as they learn this song can they join in singing it with the heavenly choir.” The Signs of the Times, November 20, 1901.

My message to you is that Jesus is coming soon—get ready! As we are getting ready, we want to remember that heaven is not only for us but also for others, and we want others to be with us.

I hope to see each one of you there, and I hope that as we gather around that great white throne we will know one another and continue to develop the relationships we started on earth for eternity.

Jesus is coming in the clouds above.

He has told us about it in His book of love.

The Bible describes this glorious event

By the prophets whom to you He has sent.

The soldiers and Pilate heard Jesus say,

They’d see Him in the glorious day.

He promised the disciples there would be mansions for them,

That He would come back and for them to prepare.

The signs of His coming are described in the book

And we are to watch and to be ready and to look.

The nations will be angry and then overcharged with care.

Peace and safety they will cry but none will be there.

As I see these things happening, my heart overflows

And a longing to see Him in my breast grows.

With an urgency that is hard to describe,

The spirit impresses that I must decide.

Oh to meet Jesus, to be ready that day

For there I am longing and for this I pray.

I know there are mansions above in the sky.

I am planning to go to them and to occupy.

And I hope there is a mansion not far away

Where you will be living and planning to stay.

Oh let us be neighbors in that home up above

Where all is peace and joy and love.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.

Editor’s Letter – Families Saved

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Every member of the family is equally important to God.

“He [Jesus] came to restore, elevate, purify, and ennoble every current of pure affection, that the family on earth might become a symbol of the family in heaven. In the Christian home the grace of God is to subdue and transform human character, and then the church will become an active, living, working church.” Manuscript 22, 1898.

It is God’s desire that not only the parents be saved, but that each member of the family be ready on the day that Jesus returns. For those of us who are parents, He has given the responsibility to be instruments in His hand to train up our children to be fit citizens for heaven. Someday the Lord is going to ask of parents, “Where is the flock that was given you, Your beautiful sheep?” Jeremiah 13:20, NKJV. Many parents, while claiming God’s promises, are neglecting these heavenly instructions:

  • Our house is to be a house of prayer. (See The Signs of the Times, March 16, 1891.)
  • Everyone in the family must understand that the law of God is the required standard of the home and will be enforced by both the father and the mother. (See Ibid., August 23, 1899.)
  • Religious instruction should be given to children from babyhood by both precept and example. (See Deuteronomy 6:5–9.)
  • The husband and the wife are to be one. (See The Review and Herald, July 8, 1902.)
  • The privacy of the family must be protected. (See The Adventist Home, 177.)
  • We must develop the graces of sympathy and courtesy at home. (See Testimonies, vol. 3, 539.)
  • Manifest a sunny or cheerful disposition. (See Fundamentals of Christian Education, 68.)
  • Show an interest in each member of the family. (See The Review and Herald, February 2, 1886.)
  • Begin your home missionary work the first thing in the morning. (See Ibid., December 23, 1884.)
  • Foster companionship. (See The Adventist Home, 190.)
  • Do not locate your home in “Sodom” like Lot did. (See Genesis 13 and 19.)
  • Teach your children to guard the “avenues to the soul.” (See The Acts of the Apostles, 518.)
  • Teach your children how to manage their finances. (The Adventist Home, 396.)
  • Train your children to do missionary work. (See The Review and Herald, December 24, 1901.)

Those who are co-workers with Jesus will reap the reward to stand on the sea of glass with their families intact. What a privilege and honor it will be to present our families to Him who saved us by His grace!

We are Almost Home-The Last 50 Miles

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During my life I have read the Spirit of Prophecy books through, but have been impressed to read them through again. In doing that, I have been impressed with a phrase that I have read over and over again that just thrills me. Ellen White says, “We are almost home.” What a wonderful thing it is to have a home. Home is a place where you can totally relax, a safe haven where you can laugh, you can cry, you can share your heart in safety; it is home. When you have been gone for a while and you get close to home, you just get a little thrill inside, because you are almost there. “We are almost home.” Here she refers to our heavenly home.

One dictionary’s description of home said, “It is a dwelling place for one who lives together with the family or in a social unit that occupies a household that offers an environment of security and happiness.”

It is wonderful to have security and happiness in our home here on earth, which is to be a little heaven on earth. It is within the family circle that we are to pattern our lives for the heaven above. But it is good for us to think about our home in heaven.

Ellen White described it this way,

“As your senses delight in the attractive loveliness of the earth, think of the world that is to come, that shall never know the blight of sin and death; where the face of nature will no more wear the shadow of the curse. Let your imagination picture the home of the saved, and remember that it will be more glorious than your brightest imagination can portray. In the varied gifts of God in nature we see but the faintest gleaming of His glory.

“And by and by the gates of heaven will be thrown open to admit God’s children, and from the lips of the King of glory the benediction will fall on their ears like richest music—‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Matthew 25:34). Then the redeemed will be welcomed to the home that Jesus is preparing for them.” God’s Amazing Grace, 359.

That is just wonderful to think about. There is another description she wrote in the book, Early Writings, 289: “Language is altogether too feeble to attempt a description of heaven. As the scene rises before me, I am lost in amazement. Carried away with the surpassing splendor and excellent glory, I lay down the pen, and exclaim, ‘Oh, what love! what wondrous love!’ The most exalted language fails to describe the glory of heaven or the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.”

It is wonderful to think about our future home and even our home here. As we prepare for that place, we need to read and study our Bibles. Road accident statistics show that most fatal accidents happen within 50 miles of home. Let’s think about that for a little bit. We are almost there, close to our heavenly home—we are going the last 50 miles. Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the end of the world. The first thing Jesus said to them was to, “Take heed that you do not be deceived, because there will be many false Christ’s out there.” (See Matthew 24:4.)

I have thought much about that statement of Jesus, especially as it is linked with the statement of the fatal accidents happening within 50 miles of home. We want to be sure we have our feet planted on the Rock. Paul said let us be no more “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” Ephesians 4:14. Today, there is a gale with every wind of doctrine blowing through our churches and among our people. False doctrines are coming in from every side—not just from the outside but also from the inside. We have to know our Bibles or we will be deceived.

“As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error.” God’s Amazing Grace, 201. The falsehoods are going to be so close to the truth. I used to think, when I was younger and when I heard about all of the falsehoods coming, that they would come from outside the church, from Sunday keeping churches or others. I felt pretty smug that I knew the truth, and I knew it pretty well. But that is not where the severest trials are coming from. The severest trials are coming from within. The false statements and the little things that are said that will sweep us off our feet are not coming from somewhere else.

“Our people need to understand the oracles of God; they need to have a systematic knowledge of the principles of revealed truth, which will fit them for what is coming upon the earth and prevent them from being carried about by every wind of doctrine.” Last Day Events, 66.

“Those who walk even as Christ walked, who are patient, gentle, kind, meek and lowly in heart, those who yoke up with Christ and lift His burdens, who yearn for souls as He yearned for them—these will enter into the joy of their Lord. They will see with Christ the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.” The Faith I Live By, 114.

Just think for a moment about the idea that we are given the opportunity to fill the vacancies made in heaven by Satan and his angels. This is an awesome thought. We are coming close to the end of time. “The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 80.

Do we figure we are the very elect? She says, “If possible.” It will be a hard time, and we have to have our feet firmly grounded in the Word. We have to spend our days studying and preparing for what is ahead.

We have been instructed that,

“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” The Desire of Ages, 83.

How many of us really take an hour a day to think upon the life of Jesus?

“The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes; those hands so often reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars; those feet so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to the tree; that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns; those quivering lips shaped to the cry of woe. And all that He endured—the blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet, the agony that racked His frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face—speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, It is for thee that the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for thee He spoils the domain of death, and opens the gates of Paradise. He who stilled the angry waves and walked the foam-capped billows, who made devils tremble and disease flee, who opened blind eyes and called forth the dead to life—offers Himself upon the cross as a sacrifice, and this from love to thee. He, the Sin Bearer, endures the wrath of divine justice, and for thy sake becomes sin itself.” Ibid., 755, 756.

After contemplating what Christ has gone through for us, dare we contemplate a failure in the last 50 miles and miss our heavenly home? When we think of how He did it all for you and me, and He has a home prepared for us, it is time that we take time to make our calling and election sure. There is only one way of doing that. We may get so busy and have so many responsibilities and are called upon to do so many extra things, but there is one thing that we dare not slip up on and that is our hour, at least an hour with our Saviour. If we spend an hour with our Lord, on our knees with the books and the Bible, He will see us through. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we forget how we have been led in the past in the teachings of Jesus. He has promised, and His promises are sure. Not one of us should have any concern that we will miss the mark if we are faithful.

The battle is for us to fight, and it is our responsibility to take time to have Jesus as our personal friend. There is only one way to have Him as our personal friend and that is to spend time with Him. Day by day, hour by hour we must weave heavenly principles into our life, praying to God that He will bestow His Holy Spirit upon us. It is the Holy Spirit alone that can purify the affections and uproot the tares that naturally grow in the heart. We are in great need of the Holy Spirit. Each one of us is in need of His guidance and His help.

We are living in the closing scenes of this earth’s history and in the day when it is almost time when the Lord will close the books and say, “It is done.” He will then step forth, out of the Sanctuary, and those that will be saved will be saved and those that are lost will be lost. This is a very solemn thought!

I think about what the Bible says about those who will be gnashing their teeth (Luke 13:28). It will be terrible to know this truth, to know that Jesus is coming and to think you are going to be saved, and then when He comes, you see the people go and you stay here; you are rejected. That is the most awful disappointment that could ever happen. Let us beware and prevent any chance that an accident happen to us in the last 50 miles and make certain that we have this truth deeply grounded in our lives and in our hearts. Let us practice the graces of Jesus Christ and have the fruits of the Spirit and let them grow in our lives so that we will be loving, kind, thoughtful, pure Christians fitted up and able to fit into that heavenly home where everything is beautiful and where every desire will be satisfied.

In this world of so much suffering it is hard to imagine, but that is what we are told. Every desire we have will be satisfied in our heavenly home. The loves and attentions that have been created in our hearts by Jesus Himself will be fulfilled. On this earth, few, if any, reach all the desire of their heart—that just does not happen down here. But in heaven, every desire and thought we have will come to fruition. Thank Him for the wonderful home He is now preparing for you. Thank God that He is planning on you being with Him in heaven. Ask Him to plant your feet on the firm Rock that you may not meet with an accident while traveling the last 50 miles. May we all be ready to look up and say, “This is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us.” Isaiah 25:9.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life until her passing in January 2010, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.

The Science of Salvation

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Throughout the Spirit of Prophecy there are 181 statements about the science of salvation.

Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge and uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. It is very exacting and very particular and follows a certain set of rules and gets the same result each time. The meaning of the word salvation is being saved. So, from what are we being saved? Here are some of the things that you are being saved from and the result:

  • saved from sin—receive purity of life
  • saved from suffering—receive health
  • saved from the things of this world—receive heaven
  • saved from Satan—receive Jesus
  • saved from the troubles of this earth—receive peace

The basis of the science of salvation is summed up this way: “Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ ascended into the heavens, Christ coming again.” Gospel Workers, 159.

This science of Christ crucified, Christ risen and Christ ascended into heaven should be constantly in the forefront of our minds and the subject of our conversation. A little time spent contemplating on the love of the Father and what Christ went through for us, and His crucifixion, would soften our hearts and keep us from sinning.

I remember an illustration I heard a long time ago that I have often pondered. If there was some sin that you really wanted to commit and Jesus was standing there and He said to you, “You go ahead and do that, but first pound these nails into my hands,” could you do that? If it became a reality to us that Jesus suffered this way at the crucifixion, it would prevent us from many sins that we so easily fall into. We are told in Hebrews 12:1, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” The only way that can become a reality is if we stop and contemplate what Christ suffered to help us overcome sin.

One of the first things in the science of salvation is to get a sense of what salvation costs. It cost the life of the Son of God. Christ suffered the cruelest death. When we contemplate that and realize it was because of love—He loves us and He wants us to be saved—that He did this. He has given guidelines to follow for our safety, and living in accordance with them, we are sure of our safety. If we take Christ into our lives and have Him the bulwark against sin, we can be sure that we can overcome. Christ’s death freed us from the condemnation of sin, but that is not the end of the story. He also was risen. Besides the sorrow there is a great joy. There is the great promise and the great understanding that because He was raised, we also will be raised. If we are faithful and accept Him into our lives so that His suffering and crucifixion free us from sin, then when He comes again and raises those who have gone to sleep and saves those who are still alive, we will be among that group. That is the goal of each one of us, and that really is salvation. This is the science of salvation working when we are saved in that way. Then we talk about Christ when He ascended into heaven. That is where faith comes in—we have to believe that He is really up there, sitting at the right hand of God. It takes faith to believe He is there for us and hears every prayer. Each thing that we think and do is part of the life of Christ. His thoughts are always on His people that He paid for at such a cost. The great goal of His life and the goal of heaven is to have each one of us saved and to be with Him for eternity. If we are going to reach that goal, we must follow Him in the steps He has taken. We will have to accept Him as a personal being in our lives. If we can sense the presence of Christ in our lives, it will prevent us from falling into sin and temptation. We constantly need to remember that Jesus is real, and if we ask, His presence will be with us at all times. The goal of each Christian is to live the life with Jesus and for Jesus, to experience this wonderful gift from heaven that we may become like Him. By beholding Christ we will be like Him (II Corinthians 3:18).

That Christ was crucified for our sins should humble every soul. Remember, humility does not mean you are down there crawling on the ground. Humility means you accept what comes to you as coming from the Lord and react to it as Jesus would react to it. Each one of us needs that humble experience, and we need to come close to Him.

There is a description in the little book, Education, 263, that helps us realize what Jesus has done for you and me. It says, “Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God—subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death—it is said that ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted: … and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.’ Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9.”

Ellen White contemplates that from the very inception of sin Christ has suffered the act of crucifixion. He suffers for each sin and for each sinner. And when you think of the suffering that goes on in heaven, we should do all we can to finish this work so that suffering can be brought to an end.

When our names are brought up in heaven, in the judgment, those for whom He has forgiven sins, He holds up His hands before God and says, “My blood, My blood” for that sinner. And He goes through the feeling of the crucifixion all over again. If we once realize what sin has cost heaven and is costing this earth, we will want to be done with it and completely take it out of our lives, and that really is the science of salvation—the overcoming of every sin and having our hearts prepared for that great day that the Lord has planned for us. He has something planned for each one, and if you disappoint Him, it hurts. It hurts deeply. If you think that sometimes you are disappointed on this earth, you know how it can hurt, but the heart of God, as much more great, as much more wonderful as He is to us, that much more He suffers.

Each one of us should be striving for the goal. The foundation of all true science is found in the Bible. And the science of salvation should be the basis for our study. The Bible is the mine where we search for the riches of Christ. And so the foundation for the science of salvation can be found in this Word and all of these promises are true. And all of these promises are for you and for me. If we would remember the promises and remember what Jesus has gone through for us, our lives can soon be perfected in such a way that we will be ready to go home with Him. That is the ultimate result of the science of salvation—that our lives are a perfect mirror of the life of Christ. He is waiting, longing for His character to be reflected perfectly in His church; then He will come. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.)

Contemplate and think upon Jesus watching down here, trying to help us and in His longing, He loves us with a love that is greater than anything on earth; if we contemplate that soon He is going to take us up there and we will see Him face to face, we soon will have the wonderful experience of realizing the love of God.

All that He requires of us is to take Him into our lives. He will purify us, and soon we will be ready to go home. That is the great goal for which we are living.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt, encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.

Bible Study Guides – A Plan With a Purpose

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April 28, 2013 – May 4, 2013

That I Might Live

Key Text

“The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

Study Help: “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 926, 927; Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 149–152.

Introduction

“Through the goodness and mercy of Christ the sinner is to be restored to the divine favor. God in Christ is daily beseeching men to be reconciled to God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 178.

1 RESTORATION TO GOD’S FAVOR

  • For what purpose does the gospel call come to us? Mark 2:17, last part.

Note: “He [the Majesty of heaven] is too pure, He is too just, to behold iniquity. But even this need not keep you away from Him; for He says, ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’ (Mark 2:17). Let perishing souls come to Him just as they are, without one plea, and plead the atoning blood of Christ, and they will find acceptance with God.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 252.

  • What does salvation through Christ mean for us, here and now? Matthew 1:21; Revelation 1:5, last part.

Note: “God has spoken, and He means that man shall obey. He does not inquire if it is convenient for him to do so. The Lord of life and glory did not consult His convenience or pleasure when He left His station of high command to become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, accepting ignominy and death in order to deliver man from the consequence of his disobedience. Jesus died, not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. Man is to leave the error of his ways, to follow the example of Christ, to take up his cross and follow Him, denying self, and obeying God at any cost.” [Author’s italics.] Testimonies, vol. 4, 250, 251

2 TWO THINGS OFFERED

  • What does God offer us, and on what condition, as a first step in our restoration? Isaiah 55:6, 7; Luke 24:47.

Note: “Through faith, the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus, not because of an inherent goodness, but because Christ receives him as His child by adoption. The sinner receives the forgiveness of his sins, because these sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1070.

“God does not deal with us as finite men deal with one another. His thoughts are thoughts of mercy, love, and tenderest compassion. He says, ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.’ ‘I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins’ (Isaiah 55:7; 44:22).” Steps to Christ, 53.

  • Besides forgiving us, what else does God do in behalf of our salvation? I John 1:9. What aim is put before us, and what is our responsibility? Philippians 3:12–14; John 5:14; 8:11.

Note: “Abstain from all evil. Common sins, however insignificant they may be regarded, will impair your moral sense, and extinguish the inward impression of the Spirit of God. The character of the thoughts leaves its imprint upon the soul, and all low conversation pollutes the mind. All evil works ruin to those who commit it. God may and will forgive the repenting sinner, but though forgiven, the soul is marred; the power of the elevated thought possible to the unimpaired mind is destroyed. Through all time the soul bears the scars. Then let us seek for that faith which works by love and purifies the heart, that we may represent the character of Christ to the world.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 195.

“It is by following in the path of obedience in simple faith that the character obtains perfection.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1137.

3 DELIVERANCE FROM SATAN’S GRASP

  • What did Paul say about the deliverance that Christ operates in us when we accept Him? Hebrews 2:15; Colossians 1:13. Sadly, how do some people cooperate with Satan rather than with Christ?

Note: “Satan will move upon minds that have been indulged, upon men who have always had their own way, and anything presented to them in counsel or reproof to change their objectionable traits of character, is considered fault-finding, binding them, restraining them, that they cannot have liberty to act themselves. The Lord in great mercy has sent messages of warning to them, but they would not listen to reproof. Like the enemy who rebelled in heaven, they did not like to hear; they do not correct the wrong they have done, but become accusers, declaring themselves misused and unappreciated.

“Now is the time of trial, of test, of proving. Those who like Saul, will persist in having their own way, will suffer as he did, loss of honor, and finally the loss of the soul.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1163, 1164.

  • How does Christ make us free from the penalty of the law that condemn us? Romans 3:24–26; 5:1.
  • What should we learn from the experience of the apostle Paul? Romans 7:9.

Note: “The apostle Paul, in relating his experience, presents an important truth concerning the work to be wrought in conversion. He says, ‘I was alive without the law once’—he felt no condemnation; ‘but when the commandment came,’ when the law of God was urged upon his conscience, ‘sin revived, and I died’ (Romans 7:9). Then he saw himself a sinner, condemned by the divine law. Mark, it was Paul, and not the law, that died.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1076.

4 RESTORING THE IMAGE OF GOD IN US

  • How does faith in the gospel relate to the law of God? Romans 3:31.
  • What warning are we given against transgressing God’s law? Romans 2:23–27; 8:7; I Timothy 1:9, 10.

Note: “The law of God is the mirror to show man the defects in his character. But it is not pleasant to those who take pleasure in unrighteousness to see their moral deformity. They do not prize this faithful mirror, because it reveals to them their sins. Therefore, instead of instituting a war against their carnal minds, they war against the true and faithful mirror, given them by Jehovah for the very purpose that they may not be deceived, but that they may have revealed to them the defects in their character.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1077.

  • What do we lose through sin? Romans 3:23; 6:23.
  • What is to be restored in us through the gospel? II Corinthians 3:18. How? John 16:13; 17:17, 19.
  • How does Christ perform the ministry of restoration? I Thessalonians 5:23.

Note: “God is clothed with power; He is able to take those who are dead in trespasses and sins, and by the operation of the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, transform the human character, bringing back to the soul the lost image of God. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are changed from being rebels against the law of God into obedient servants and subjects of His kingdom. They are born again, regenerated, sanctified through the truth.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 332.

5 HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM

  • On what condition, and for what purpose, has God given us “the Spirit of adoption”? Romans 8:14–17. What evidence reveals our adoption as God’s children? II Corinthians 6:16–18; II Peter 1:4.

Note: “Let every one who desires to be a partaker of the divine nature appreciate the fact that he must escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. There must be a constant, earnest struggling of the soul against the evil imaginings of the mind. There must be a steadfast resistance of temptation to sin in thought or act. The soul must be kept from every stain, through faith in Him who is able to keep you from falling. We should meditate upon the scriptures, thinking soberly and candidly upon the things that pertain to our eternal salvation.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1145.

  • How are we enabled to resist the clamoring of our own carnal nature? Colossians 1:10, 11; Ephesians 3:16, 20.

Note: “Man cannot transform himself by the exercise of his will. He possesses no power by which this change can be effected. … All the culture and education which the world can give will fail of making a degraded child of sin a child of heaven. The renewing energy must come from God. The change can be made only by the Holy Spirit. All who would be saved, high or low, rich or poor, must submit to the working of this power.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 96, 97.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What is the main purpose of the gospel?

2 Name two benefits granted us through God’s forgiveness.

3 How is the experience of the apostle Paul an example for us?

4 How are we to relate to the law and the gospel?

5 What is the depth of the value of the gospel message?

© 2007 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Worse Sinner Than I Am

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The apostle Paul describes the whole purpose for Jesus Christ to come to this world. It is found in I Timothy 1:15: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” He came to save sinners.

The Bible says, in Romans 3:23, that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” It is a fact that we are all sinners and it was for sinners that Jesus came to this world to save. Sinners need a Saviour, but one of the anomalies about the human race is that even though we recognize that we need to be saved, sometimes we have trouble recognizing that others, whom we consider much worse sinners than we are, also need saving grace. I am thankful that God does not take exception. He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” I Timothy 2:4. This includes the people that I think are worse sinners than I am. God is no respecter of persons.

Luke 15:1, 2 says, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained [they found fault], saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’ ” In the Jewish society, people were catalogued—which people were the worst sinners? Tax collectors were considered the worst for they hired out to the Romans to collect taxes from fellow Jews. A woman who became a harlot or prostitute was considered as low as a woman could go. Shocked that Jesus would associate with what they considered the dredge of society they said, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” This was a smear tactic against Jesus’ character, implying that He condoned sin.

Let’s think this through. The only way a sinner can be saved is if somebody comes in contact with that person and shows them the way of salvation. This was the sole purpose of Jesus. “He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men, that He might dwell among us, and make us familiar with His divine character and life.” The Desire of Ages, 23.

We cannot help sinners to be saved if we are not willing to come in contact with them. There are many Christians today that say they want the sinners to be saved, but if you are to bring one of these sinners to church, their attitude changes.

Several years ago, a relative of mine was working with a missionary outreach project in the San Francisco, California, area. It was the time of the hippy movement, and San Francisco was the hub where young people from all over the United States rejected the middle class of their parents and went to San Francisco and lived on the street in a communal type lifestyle. It was actually a very demoralizing development that happened in America during that time. My relative came in contact with many of these people, praying with them and giving them books like Steps to Christ. She found that some of the hippies were becoming disenchanted with the lifestyle and wanted something different, so she decided to invite them to church. Dressed in their blue jeans and so different than the rest of the congregation in their suits and ties, they were invited to sit in the back row. Recognizing that they were not accepted there, they soon became discouraged and left. People tend to segregate into groups and tend not to accept people of other social groups that are so different than their own. Jesus got into trouble with the Pharisees because He was different; He accepted people from the “wrong” social group.

He was not exclusive and accepted people from all races, all social groups, all backgrounds. It did not matter to Jesus what their sin problem was. The only question He asked was, “Do you want to be saved; would you like to be clean?” That attitude was so foreign to the leaders that they could not accept it. They found fault saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Jesus received them and ate with the people that were considered so sinful that they could not be saved, but Jesus saved them.

Unfortunately, not very many of the religious leaders were saved. Ironically, a study of the Bible shows that the people who human beings believed would be saved, end up not being saved, and those that we think it impossible to be saved are the ones that end up being saved. It was that way in Jesus’ day. Jesus said, “ ‘Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said to Him, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.’ ” Matthew 21:31.

Jesus received sinners and ate with them. John the Baptist did. Are you willing to do the same and offer them the gift of salvation?

After He was criticized because He received sinners and ate with them, Jesus told them three of the most familiar stories in the gospels. We are going to look at the third one that begins in Luke 15:11, 12. “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.”

Notice, the younger of his two sons said to his father, “Father, I don’t want to wait until you die to get my inheritance. I want it now.” The first thing we see in this story is the impatience of sin. “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together.” Verse 13. The father divided to his sons his livelihood and the younger son gathered his things together, anxious to get ready to go on a trip. In the selfishness of his sin he gathered it all together, not so he could help somebody but because he wanted to have a good time.

If your life consists in serving yourself, the devil is satisfied knowing that you belong to his kingdom and not to Jesus Christ. Nobody that serves himself belongs to Jesus Christ. “He [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” II Corinthians 5:15.

A born again Christian lives for the One that died for him or her, but this young man set out to do all that pleased himself without regard to his father or his family. We see in the story the selfishness of sin.

Luke 15:13 continues, He “journeyed to a far country.” He separated from his father’s house. Separation is the result of sin. First there is the impatience of sin, the selfishness of sin that results in the separation of sin. But not only did the son journey to a far country, but he “wasted his possessions with prodigal living.” This is sometimes translated as riotous living, or a very literal translation of the Greek word would be wasteful living. Now we see the wastefulness of sin. This young man was worth a lot of money, but because of riotous living he wasted his substance.

God understands when a young man or young woman goes into sin. They waste their manhood or womanhood. This young man wasted his money. He wasted his time and also he wasted his opportunities. Have you been wasting your life?

We usually think of waste in terms of money. He was wasting his money, but not just that, he was wasting his manhood, his self-respect, his time and his life. Notice what it says in Isaiah 52:3: “For thus says the Lord: ‘You have sold yourselves for nothing. And you shall be redeemed without money.’ ” You just wasted it all. Nothing is much more frustrating to a person who is a good manager, whether it be of time or money, than to have to deal with somebody else who is a waster. Much of the trouble in this world today is because of waste in some area.

“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want.” Luke 15:14. I call this the dissatisfaction of sin. The young man was now in want. No longer was he satisfied, and the thrilling life he lived had ended. This is what always happens to a person that is living in sin. There will always come a time when what they thought was exciting and pleasurable, what they thought was having a good time no longer satisfies.

The pleasures of sin are always temporary. Fortunately for some, they get this figured out ahead of time before they make bad choices. In Hebrews 11:25, talking about Moses, it says, He chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” for a season or, in other words, to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin. Though he could have enjoyed the luxuries of the Egyptian palace, Moses esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” Verse 26.

Well, the time had come that the younger son was no longer satisfied with his life, and he needed a solution to his problem. “Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” Luke 15:15. He now experienced the degradation of sin. In the Jewish culture there was no lower place you could go than to feed swine. It was the worst job imaginable.

It was not sinful, but it was just considered the worst, most degrading job you could have. This illustrates the degradation of sin. “And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.” Verse 16. I call this the destitution of sin. A young man with such a future leaves the comfort of his father’s home and now is destitute; he is as low as he can go, and nobody gives him anything.

A destitute person has nothing. He has no food, no clothing, no shelter, no transportation—he has nothing! That person is destitute.

On that first step, when he first started experiencing the selfishness of sin, he thought that his life would be wonderful. He longed for the freedom he would have once he could separate from his father’s house with its perceived restrictions. With his inheritance of a considerable amount of money, he thought he was having a good time experiencing the wastefulness of sin. But then, when the money ran out and his partying friends left, he experienced the degradation of sin, and now the destitution that follows.

He reached the bottom of the pit and there was no place lower to go. This is a pathetic place to end up, but sadly it is not uncommon to find a person in this experience. Often God has to allow them go really low before He can get their attention. Some have landed in prison or in the hospital. Others went bankrupt before God was able to get their attention.

Finally, unlike some other people’s experiences, the story of the prodigal son has a happy ending. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’ ” Verses 17–19. He finally decided it was time to go home, back to his father’s house. Before he might have thought that the father’s house was full of hypocrites, something that I hear all the time. “I’m not going to go to church; the church is full of hypocrites!”

Just like hospitals are made for the sick people that want to be well, the church was made for the sinners that want to have salvation. The church is not a club just for the people that are already holy. The church is a hospital for sinners that need to be saved.

So this broken young man decided that it was time that he would go back home. The church is home. Don’t let anybody tell you that it is not important whether you belong to the church or not. When Jesus comes back to this world, He’s coming to get His church. Revelation 19 is very clear on that point. Jesus is coming to get His church; He is not coming for anybody else.

The delinquent son decided to go home. In order to arise and go to his father, he had to leave his harlots and his whiskey in the far country. Don’t get mixed up about that. He could not bring his harlots and his whiskey home with him. Friend, if you want to go home, you have to be willing to leave your sinful life in the far country. The Father is waiting for you to come home, but He’s not going to accept you with the harlots and the whiskey; it must be left behind. If you want to live in sin, you will have to stay outside the father’s house.

But this boy decided that he would leave all that in the far country, and he came home with the confession of his sins. “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Verse 20. Do you realize that there is Somebody that wants you to come home? Your Father in heaven is watching, just like that father was watching the road every day. We know he was anxiously watching the road, because the Bible says he saw his son when he was a long ways away.

I once had a physiology teacher in graduate school who told us that if you love somebody, you can recognize the person you love from a greater distance than you can recognize anybody else. The father loved that prodigal son, so when he saw him a long way off, he recognized him, even though he was in rags and looked nothing at all like when he left. The father’s love recognized him, “That’s my boy!”

He did not wait for him to get home and get himself cleaned up, but he ran to meet him on the road. Friend, there’s Somebody that wants you back home. The father ran to him and embraced him. He let him know how glad he was to have his son back home. By the way, this is how sinners should be treated when they come into an Adventist church; they should recognize immediately from our conduct toward them that we are glad they are home.

And so, he poured out his confession: “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ” Verse 21. He recognized and confessed that he had sinned. Those who want to be accepted at home need to have this spirit of confession, because “He who covers his sins [or attempts to cover them] will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13.

He confessed, “I have sinned, I am no more worthy to be called your son.” This is a wonderful story because it says in verse 22 of Luke 15, “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’ ” The rings worn in those days were the things they used to sign documents. By this act the father was giving to his son permission once more to have access to the family checking account.

Verses 23 and 24 continue, “ ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” O, friend, if you are in the far country and have not come home yet, it says your condition is lost. If you are living in sin, you are lost. If you are living a prodigal life, you are lost. If you don’t belong to God’s children, you are lost. But do not despair; you do not need to stay lost, you can come home. And when you come home, the Father is going to put His arm around you and welcome you and give you full fellowship with the family.

But there is a sadder part to this story. It says in verses 25–27, “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ ”

The older brother in this story represents the first-born. This is very interesting. When you study sociology, you learn that the first-born child is always the more conservative. The first-born is the one that tends to emulate and imitate his parents and is often the one that becomes more successful in this society and in this world. What happened in this family follows the exact same pattern that happens still today. You can read it for yourself in The Birth Order Book by Kevin Leman, (Revell, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009). There is decided difference between the first-born, and the second-born, and youngest.

The first-born had never left the father’s house. This man was lost in church. The far country is not the only place you could be lost. You could be lost in church. However, nobody knows you are lost, because you do all the right things. He was so confident. Look at the conversation he and his father had together: “He was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.’ ” Verses 28, 29.

I have never done anything wrong. I always pay my tithe. I always do what’s right. I never steal. And yet you don’t treat me as nice as you treat my younger brother who went out and wasted your living. Notice what it says in verse 30: “But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.”

I am sorry to tell you, friends, the spirit of the older brother is rife in the church today when somebody in the church wants to help one of the prodigal sons that is coming home. One of the reasons there are so many prodigal sons that never get back home is because there are too many older brothers in the church. The prodigal does not feel comfortable; they are not accepted, and everybody is thinking about their past whereas the father was going to give this younger boy a chance for the future.

This is really a loaded story. Where do I fit in? Where do you fit in? Are you unhappy if persons in the church decide to really put themselves out to help somebody that is living in sin to win them back? Are you unhappy if somebody that has made some terrible mistakes in his/her life receives something that you don’t receive? Do you get unhappy because the prodigal son is treated too well? I am talking here about a common problem in the church today. We need to ask the Lord to help us to be converted, so that the Father can bring His prodigal children back home.

There are many prodigal sons that God cannot bring home into our churches because they would get discouraged and go right back out because of the coldness of the older brothers in the church. Look at verses 31 and 32: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Here we see, at the end of the story, one brother is saved and there is still one brother that is lost. But for the brother that is lost, for the Pharisee in the church, the Father wants to save him too. The Father wants to save the Pharisees as well as the prodigals.

But friend, can I be saved if I’m not happy when somebody else is saved? Can I be saved if I’m not happy when somebody else gets something that I don’t think they deserve, when everything I have is something that I don’t deserve? The last verses give heaven’s most touching appeal to the Pharisees of all ages. Phariseeism is human nature applied to religion. It is common throughout the religious world today. It is common in the Adventist church.

There are prodigal sons that need to be saved. And if they are going to be saved, we need to pray that we will be converted and that we will have the attitude of the father toward them so the Lord can bring them to His home. Ask the Lord that we be converted. As you read this story, think it through and ask the Lord to help you understand where you fit in.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guides – Except They Be Agreed

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January 5, 2014 – January 11, 2014

Key Text

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” I Peter 1:2.

Study Help: The Upward Look, 379; “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1114.

Introduction

“If we are of one mind with God, our will will be swallowed up in God’s will and we shall follow wherever God leads the way. As a loving child places his hand in that of his father, and walks with him in perfect trust whether it is dark or bright, so the sons and daughters of God are to walk with Jesus through joy or sorrow.” That I May Know Him, 250.

1 BEING FITTED

  • What was God’s original purpose for man? Ephesians 1:4.
  • How is it possible to reach that standard? John 1:12; Hebrews 7:25.

Note: “There could be no such thing as one not prepared for heaven entering heaven. There is no such thing as a human being sanctified and fitted for the heavenly kingdom not having an election to that kingdom. God elects those who have been working on the plan of addition. The explanation is given in the first chapter of Second Peter. For every human being, Christ has paid the election price. No one need be lost. All have been redeemed. To those who receive Christ as a personal Saviour will be given power to become the sons and daughters of God. An eternal life insurance policy has been provided for all.

“Whom God elects, Christ redeems. The Saviour has paid the redemption price for every soul. We are not our own; for we are bought with a price. From the Redeemer, who from the foundation of the world has chosen us, we receive the insurance policy that entitles us to eternal life.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 944.

2 PREDESTINATED

  • Through Whom do we gain our inheritance? Ephesians 1:5, 11.

Note: “In the council of heaven, provision was made that men, though transgressors, should not perish in their disobedience, but, through faith in Christ as their substitute and surety, might become the elect of God predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. God wills that all men should be saved; for ample provision has been made, in giving His only-begotten Son to pay man’s ransom. Those who perish will perish because they refuse to be adopted as children of God through Christ Jesus.” The Signs of the Times, January 2, 1893.

  • How is the salvation of God’s chosen ones secured? I Peter 1:2.

Note: “The Father sets His love upon His elect people who live in the midst of men. These are the people whom Christ has redeemed by the price of His own blood; and because they respond to the drawing of Christ, through the sovereign mercy of God, they are elected to be saved as His obedient children. Upon them is manifested the free grace of God, the love wherewith He hath loved them. Everyone who will humble himself as a little child, who will receive and obey the word of God with a child’s simplicity, will be among the elect of God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1114.

3 CONDITIONS

  • For what are we to diligently strive? II Peter 1:10.

Note: “Here is the condition of the only saving election in the word of God. We are to become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to add grace to grace, and the promise is, ‘If ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (II Peter 1:10, 11).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1114.

“If we comply with the conditions the Lord has made, we shall secure our election to salvation. Perfect obedience to His commandments is the evidence that we love God, and are not hardened in sin.

“There are in the church those who are not made any better by their connection with it. They themselves break the terms of their election. Obedience to the commandments of God gives us a right to the privileges of His church.” Ibid., 1079.

  • Is salvation unconditional? II Peter 2:15–20.

Note: “There is no such thing in the word of God as unconditional election—once in grace, always in grace. In the second chapter of Second Peter the subject is made plain and distinct. After a history of some who followed an evil course, the explanation is given: [II Peter 2:15–20 quoted.] Here is a class of whom the apostle warns, ‘For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them’ (II Peter 2:21).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1114.

4 ONCE SAVED – ALWAYS SAVED?

  • How does Ezekiel describe the events leading to salvation? Ezekiel 18:21; 33:13.

Note: “There is truth to be received if souls are saved. The keeping of the commandments of God is life eternal to the receiver. But the Scriptures make it plain that those who once knew the way of life and rejoiced in the truth are in danger of falling through apostasy, and being lost. Therefore there is need of a decided, daily conversion to God.

“All who seek to sustain the doctrine of election, once in grace, always in grace, do this against a plain, ‘Thus saith the Lord’ [Ezekiel 18:21; 33:13 quoted].

“Those who have been truly converted have been buried with Christ in the likeness of His death, and raised from the watery grave in the likeness of His resurrection, to walk in newness of life. By faithful obedience to the truth they are to make their calling and election sure.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1114, 1115.

  • What are the two agencies at work in the plan of salvation? II Thessalonians 2:13.

Note: “In this text the two agencies in the work of salvation are revealed—the divine influence, and the strong, living faith of those who follow Christ. It is through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth that we become laborers together with God. Christ waits for the co-operation of His church. He does not design to add a new element of efficiency to His word; He has done His great work in giving His inspiration to the word. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the divine word, are ours. The object of all this provision of heaven is before us—the salvation of the souls for whom Christ died; and it depends upon us to lay hold on the promises God has given, and become laborers together with Him. Divine and human agencies must co-operate in the work.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, 22.

  • Who did Jesus say would hear His voice? John 18:37.

Note: “Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ—to bear His burden, to lift His cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure’ (11 Peter 1:10). Search the Scriptures, and you will see that not a son or a daughter of Adam is elected to be saved in disobedience to God’s law. The world makes void the law of God; but Christians are chosen to sanctification through obedience to the truth. They are elected to bear the cross, if they would wear the crown.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 125, 126.

5 SWALLOWED UP IN GOD’S WILL

  • What is increased to those who have gained precious faith? II Peter 1:1, 2.
  • To those who do not agree in their faith, what question is asked? Amos 3:3.

Note: “If we are of one mind with God, our will will be swallowed up in God’s will and we shall follow wherever God leads the way. As a loving child places his hand in that of his father, and walks with him in perfect trust whether it is dark or bright, so the sons and daughters of God are to walk with Jesus through joy or sorrow.

“The soul that loves God loves to draw strength from Him by constant communion with Him. When it becomes the habit of the soul to converse with God, the power of the evil one is broken, for Satan cannot abide near the soul that draws nigh unto God. If Christ is your companion, you will not cherish vain and impure thoughts; you will not indulge in trifling words that will grieve Him who has come to be the sanctifier of your soul.

“Those who are sanctified through the truth are living recommendations of its power, and representatives of their risen Lord. The religion of Christ will refine the taste, sanctify the judgment, elevate, purify, and ennoble the soul, making the Christian more and more fit for the society of the heavenly angels.” That I May Know Him, 250.

Studies compiled by Judy Hallingstad. Judy is part of the LandMarks team and can be contacted by email at: judyhallingstad@stepstolife.org.

If you Believe-Then Follow

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Many of the most famous people who have ever lived were not at all popular among their contemporaries during their lifetime. Abraham Lincoln received only forty percent of the popular vote in 1860. The apostle Paul was despised and considered a teacher of dangerous doctrines by both the pagans and the Jews. Even many Christians had an intense dislike for him.

Why were so many people in New Testament times, all over the Roman Empire, so upset with Paul and his teachings? Interestingly, one of the prominent reasons that many people, Jews and Christians alike, were upset with him was because of his teaching about how a person is saved. What he taught is recorded in his letter in Romans 4:1–5. He says, “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

Paul clearly states that a man is not saved by his own works. Salvation comes through grace alone, through faith, and not by means of money or by any effort on his part.

In the early church there were leaders, as there have been in all ages since then, who asked what would motivate people to do what is right. Notice what Paul said about that in Ephesians 2:8, 9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Salvation comes as a free gift from God when you exercise faith in Jesus Christ. That is what the apostle Paul told the Philippian jailor in Acts 16 when he came and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ ” Acts 16:30, 31.

Salvation is not complicated; it’s very simple.

If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Sometimes people say that they believe in Jesus Christ but they really do not know what that demands. In the New Testament, the words “to believe,” or “to have faith” mean that you believe something strongly enough to make a commitment. To “believe” in Jesus Christ therefore means that you believe in Him to the extent that you acknowledge Him to be your Lord and act accordingly. Notice what Jesus said about that in Luke 6:46. Jesus asked the following question to the Jewish people. He said, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?”

When you believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life, you will choose to follow Him. At that time you will receive salvation as a gift of the grace of God. It will not be because of anything that you do or that you deserve. Over and over again the apostle Paul taught this in his letters. Notice what he said in Galatians 2:16 when speaking to a group of churches in what we call Turkey today that had gone into apostasy. He said, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

Paul taught that salvation came through grace alone when faith is exercised and when you believe in Christ as your Lord and Saviour. There are millions of Christians, even today, that do not believe this. Notice what Paul wrote to a young minister in Titus 3:3–5. He said, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

He emphatically taught that you cannot be saved by going through any manner of religious rituals. The Jews tried that. Expanding on the writings of Moses they added all manner of religious rituals and customs. There were so many rules and regulations that it was almost impossible for anybody to keep them all. Paul wrote that nobody can be saved because he goes through a certain religious rite or exercise.

Some may believe that being baptized saves them. Baptism, like other religious rituals, is a symbolic act. If all you have is the symbol, but do not understand what is symbolized, then you do not have the reality. That was the problem with the Jewish religion. Every sacrificed animal was a symbol of the promised Messiah to come Who would offer His life for the sins of the world. Unfortunately, they lost sight of the reality and rejected the Messiah. They continued with the sacrificial services, even though once Christ had come they had lost their meaning. In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, in the 10th chapter, he wrote that animal sacrifices cannot take away your sins or provide salvation (Hebrews 10:4). It is only the blood of Jesus Christ that can take away sins and enable us to enter by faith “the Holiest” (verse 19) where our sins are forgiven.

What about baptism and circumcision?

In Colossians 2:11 Paul addresses that. He wrote, “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Circumcision and baptism are both symbols. Circumcision is a symbol of cutting away sin in your life. Baptism is a symbol of washing away the sins from your life. If you go through the symbol, but never have the experience that is symbolized, then you can have no assurance of salvation.

Notice 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul said, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” Here he talks about being baptized by the Holy Spirit. There will not be any person who is truly baptized with the Holy Spirit that will not be in the kingdom of heaven. But there will be millions of people who have been baptized with water that will not be in the kingdom of heaven because they merely had the symbol, but were never baptized by the Spirit. In fact, on the Day of Pentecost, it says in Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ” The whole purpose of baptism was to receive the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:2–6 records a time when Paul met some men who had been baptized by John but had not received the Holy Spirit: “He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” A baptism of repentance is not enough. You need to receive the Holy Spirit. Have you received the Holy Spirit?

Baptism is a symbol of dying to the old life and rising to walk in newness of life. It is a symbol of being baptized by the Holy Spirit, receiving the new birth so that you have a new heart, a new spirit and a new mind. It was for this reason that many Jews and others did not like what the apostle taught because they wanted a religion where you had to do something to be saved. Paul taught the opposite: you cannot be saved by doing anything yourself. Salvation is a gift by grace through faith alone to all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and choose to follow Him. But this was not the only reason the people were unhappy with Paul.

The Futility of Pagan Religion

Throughout his letters and preaching he showed the worthlessness of pagan philosophy, which made the pagans very unhappy with him. He opposed the philosophers when he spoke to them in Athens, as recorded in the 17th book of Acts. It says, “Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

“Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter.’ ” Acts 17:22–32.

He pointed out that the true God is the One that made the heavens and earth, that He is Lord of all of it, and that He is not worshiped by replacing Him with things that you can make. The pagans did not like this teaching of the apostle Paul because, as you can see in the 19th chapter of Acts, they realized that if the apostle Paul’s teachings were accepted, the income that they made from their idolatrous religion would end. They were loath to lose that money.

The apostle wrote about this again in Romans 1. He explained the worthlessness, the futility of pagan philosophy. Notice what he said: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:20–32.

The pagans did not like Paul’s teachings because it revealed that their way of life was futile, worthless, and even worthy of death. He exposed the futility of pagan philosophy over and over again in his letters. The pagans were upset with him because he explained that their way of life was empty and did not lead to life everlasting or salvation, but was worthless because it rejected the wisdom of the Creator.

The Jews Reject Paul’s Teachings

Although there were many pagan people, idolatrous people, who were unhappy with the apostle Paul as is documented in the book of Acts, the people that caused him the most trouble were the Jews. Why were they so upset with what he taught? The Jews, who had the Old Testament, believed themselves to be the greatest religionists in the world. Yet they too hated Paul because he exposed their heresies. He said, “You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ as it is written. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:23–29.

Over and over again the apostle Paul dwelt on this matter. It is not whether or not you go through outward rituals, performing outward religious symbols, or keep certain religious observances that makes the difference. What makes the difference is whether or not you have been changed on the inside.

Jesus also reprimanded the Jewish people about this same experience. He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. … first clean the inside … that the outside of them may be clean also.” Matthew 23:25, 26.

Paul effectually told the Jews that all of their religion was worthless if it was just a matter of outward action and their hearts had not been changed. In Romans 9:6–8, he said, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” The Jews considered that simply because they were Jews, they were assured of salvation, but Paul told them that they were mistaken and that some of them were not even part of Israel.

Notice that for a person to be part of spiritual Israel he must be born again. It is the inward spiritual experience that determines a man’s destiny. When the heart is changed, it will be seen in his actions, but trying to change the outside when the heart is corrupt will not result in any lasting change. This is the doctrine that Paul taught the Jews that the majority rejected. Religion must involve a change of heart and not just a change in outward appearances.

The ceremonies that were given to Moses to instruct the children of Israel, had their time and place, but once Christ had fulfilled His mission they had lost their purpose and became empty forms. In Galatians 6:15, Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”

Paul Teaches the New Birth Experience

Have you been born again? Has your heart been made new? Remember, a birth creates a new being. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Most Assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5. Have you allowed Jesus to create a new heart in you? If you have, you are a new person and what happens on the outside will reflect the new heart. You will hate the things you once loved and love the things that you once hated.

When you study the life of the apostle Paul, one of the most unbelievable things that stands out is that it was not only the pagans or the Jews who rejected his theology, but it was even many of the Christians who thought he was a teacher of dangerous doctrines. There are many Christians even today who do not understand that Paul clearly taught the importance of the new birth, even though it occurs in one form or another throughout his writings (see Ephesians 1:4, II Corinthians 7:1 and Colossians 3:1–3). Over and over again, the apostle taught that it was necessary to “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.

Paul taught that only those who were sanctified; in other words, only those who were living a holy life, would receive the gift of salvation. Now we are not holy, and we cannot make ourselves holy, for only God can make any person holy, but God has promised to make His children holy. He has promised His children that if they would follow Him, and follow His instructions, He would make them holy. That is what the new birth is about also, changing a person’s heart so that they live a different life. Paul says in Romans 7 that the law is holy, just and good (verse 12). The person who is a holy person will be keeping the principles of the law, the Ten Commandments.

Friend, do you have that essential ingredient to obtain the gift of salvation? Has the Holy Spirit made you new? Has the Holy Spirit given you a new heart? Are you living a new life because you have been made clean and holy on the inside? If not, ask the Lord to give it to you, so that you may be changed inside, and be made ready to receive the gift of salvation and eternal life when Jesus returns.

“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guides – Living for Jesus

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December 14, 2014 – December 20, 2014

Key Text

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” I Corinthians 6:9–11.

Study Help: Steps to Christ, 105–113.

Introduction

“Devotion, piety, and sanctification of the entire man come through Jesus Christ our righteousness. The love of God needs to be constantly cultivated. O how my heart cries out to the living God for the mind of Jesus Christ! I want to lose sight of self.” That I May Know Him, 55.

1 TRANSFORMATION THROUGH CHRIST

  • What transformation takes place in our life as we accept Jesus Christ? John 14:23; I John 2:3–6; 4:15–21.

Note: “If we are Christ’s, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him.” Steps to Christ, 58.

“When Christ abides in the heart, the whole nature is transformed. Christ’s Spirit, His love, softens the heart, subdues the soul, and raises the thoughts and desires toward God and heaven.” Ibid., 73.

“Let this point be fully settled in every mind: If we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King and are obedient to His commandments. Thus we evidence our allegiance to God. We have then the genuine ring in our faith, for it is a working faith. It works by love.” Faith and Works, 16.

2 THE ISSUE AT STAKE

  • Describe how the marvelous work of transformation through Christ involves an ongoing battle. Ephesians 6:12, 13; I Peter 5:6–10.

Note: “In every soul two powers are struggling earnestly for the victory. Unbelief marshals its forces, led by Satan, to cut us off from the Source of our strength. Faith marshals its forces, led by Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Hour by hour, in the sight of the heavenly universe, the conflict goes forward. This is a hand-to-hand fight, and the great question is, Which shall obtain the mastery? This question each must decide for himself. In this warfare all must take a part, fighting on one side or the other. From the conflict there is no release.” Sons and Daughters of God, 328.

“If our eyes could be opened to see the good and evil agencies at work, there would be no trifling, no vanity, no jesting or joking. If all would put on the whole armor of God and fight manfully the battles of the Lord, victories would be gained that would cause the kingdom of darkness to tremble.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 41.

“The test comes to everyone. There are only two sides. On which side are you?” Ibid., vol. 8, 120.

  • What is the most expensive thing in the world—and how is its magnitude revealed? Romans 6:23, first part; Hebrews 9:27.

Note: “Can we not understand that the most costly thing in the world is sin? It is at the expense of purity of conscience, at the cost of losing the favor of God and separating the soul from Him, and at last losing heaven. … What a scene will be presented when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened to testify the salvation or the loss of all souls! It will require the unerring decision of One who has lived in humanity, loved humanity, given His life for humanity, to make the final appropriation of the rewards to the loyal righteous, and the punishment of … the disloyal, and the unrighteous.

“The work of our salvation lies between God and our own souls. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before Him, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being on earth.” In Heavenly Places, 360.

3 ACTIVE FAITH

  • Describe the intensity of faith needed in salvation. Luke 10:27.

Note: “Anything less than active, earnest service for the Master gives the lie to our profession of faith. Only the Christianity that is revealed by earnest, practical work will make an impression upon those who are dead in trespasses and sins. Praying, humble, believing Christians, those who show by their actions that their greatest desire is to make known the saving truth which is to test all people, will gather a rich harvest of souls for the Master. …

“We are doing a work in the world, but we are not showing sufficient activity and zeal. If we were more in earnest, men would be convinced of the truth of our message. … We may perform all the outward acts of service and yet be as destitute of the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit as the hills of Gilboa were destitute of dew and rain. We all need spiritual moisture, and we need also the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to soften and subdue our hearts. … Bible principles are to be taught and then backed up by holy practice.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 417, 418.

  • How does Jesus vividly illustrate the drastic change He wants to see in us? John 3:5–7.

Note: “The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit have become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices, they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ.” The Review and Herald, April 12, 1892.

“Let those who wish for something new seek for that newness of life resulting from the new birth. Let them purify their souls by obeying the truth, and act in harmony with the instruction Christ gave to the lawyer who asked what he must do in order to inherit eternal life:

“ ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.’ ‘This do and thou shalt live’ (Luke 10:27, 28). All who will conform their lives to the plain requirements of God’s word will inherit eternal life.” Notebook Leaflets, vol. 2, 164.

4 ALL IS OF GOD

  • What thought should ever be kept in our mind? I Chronicles 29:14.

Note: “Every member of the human family is given wholly into the hands of Christ, and whatever we possess—whether it is the gift of money, of houses, of lands, of reasoning powers, of physical strength, of intellectual talents—in this present life, and the blessings of the future life, are placed in our possession as God’s treasures to be faithfully expended for the benefit of man. Every gift is stamped with the cross and bears the image and superscription of Jesus Christ. All things come of God. From the smallest benefits up to the largest blessing, all flow through the one Channel—a superhuman mediation sprinkled with the blood that is of value beyond estimate because it was the life of God in His Son. …

“We possess nothing, can offer nothing in value, in work, in faith, which we have not first received of God and upon which He can lay His hand any time and say, They are Mine—gifts and blessings and endowments I entrusted to you, not to enrich yourself, but for wise improvement to benefit the world.” Faith and Works, 22.

  • How should this reality affect our attitudes? Romans 2:1–4; I Corinthians 6:9–11.

Note: “You cannot have a thought without Christ. You cannot have an inclination to come to Him unless He sets in motion influences and impresses His Spirit upon the human mind. …

“Then don’t let us ever say that we can repent of ourselves, and then Christ will pardon. No, indeed. It is the favor of God that pardons. It is the favor of God that leads us by His power to repentance. Therefore, it is all of Jesus Christ, everything of Him, and you want to just give back glory to God. Why don’t you respond more when you meet together in your meetings? Why don’t you have the quickening influence of the Spirit of God when the love of Jesus and His salvation are presented to you? It is because you do not see that Christ is first and last and best, and the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the very Author and Finisher of our faith.” Faith and Works, 73.

5 FOLLOWING IN OUR MASTER’S FOOTSTEPS

  • Explain the cross in our daily life. Ephesians 2:11–18; Matthew 16:24, 25.

Note: “Look not to a future, more convenient season, when the cross to be lifted will be less heavy, when the inclinations of the carnal heart will be subdued with less effort. ‘Today,’ saith the Spirit of God, ‘if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart’ (Hebrews 3:7, 8). Today go about the work, else you may be one day too late.” The Review and Herald, November 2, 1886.

  • We cannot earn salvation—it is attained only through the merits of Christ—yet what are we nonetheless bidden? Philippians 2:12, 13.

Note: “It is not committed to us, weak, feeble mortals to work out our own salvation in our own line. It is Christ that worketh in you. And this is the privilege of every son and daughter of Adam. But we are to work. We are not to be idle. We are put here in this world to work. We are not put here to fold our arms.” This Day With God, 72.

“You cannot enjoy His [God’s] blessing without any action on your part. Salvation is a gift offered to you free; on no other condition can you obtain it, than as a free gift. But cooperation on your part is essential for your salvation. … We are daily working out our destiny. We have a crown of eternal life to win, a hell to shun.” The Review and Herald, August 25, 1891.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Explain the change that comes when we accept Christ as Lord of our life.

2 What is the most costly thing in the world—and why?

3 Describe the fruits of true repentance and conversion.

4 Explain how far-reaching is the basic truth that God is all-in-all.

5 What can or cannot we do toward our salvation?

Copyright © 2013 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.